+ Our Lord appears to seven disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. +

+ Jesus breakfasts with seven disciples. +

+ Our Lord appears on Mount Thabor. +

Mystic Monk Coffee - from the Traditional Carmelite Monks of Wyoming

Saturday, July 30, 2011

It was slightly touch-and go with the weather, but yesterday evening Br. Paul Mary, F.SS.R. and Br. Xavier Maria, F.SS.R. arrived home to Papa Stronsay from Christchurch New Zealand. They are staying on Papa Stronsay for two months.

The brothers were picked-up from Glasgow airport and are seen here driving off the Stronsay ferry.

Welcome home!

A joyous homecoming after a long journey from the other side of the world!

On the way home, they collected the next issue of Catholic. Here it's being loaded onto the boat.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

About 300 of Austria’s 4,200 priests (a minority of 7.1%,no doubt they are mostly old liberals from the 1960's era)have pledged to take part inAufruf zum -zum zum!- Ungehorsam(Call to Disobedience), an initiative launched in June.The Call to Disobedience manifesto cites“the Roman refusal of a long-overdue Church reformand the inaction of bishops.” Dissenters who support the document pledge:

- to pray for Church reform at every liturgy, since “in the presence of God there is freedom of speech”- not to deny the Holy Eucharist to “believers of good will,” including non-Catholic Christians and those who have remarried outside the Church- to avoid offering Mass more than once on Sundays and holy days and to avoid making use of visiting priests--instead holding a “self-designed” Liturgy of the Word- to describe such a Liturgy of the Word with the distribution of Holy Communion as a “priestless Eucharistic celebration”; “thus we fulfill the Sunday obligation in a time of priest shortage”- to “ignore” canonical norms that restrict the preaching of the homily to clergy- to oppose parish mergers, insisting instead that each parish have its own individual leader, “whether man or woman”- to “use every opportunity to speak out openly in favor of the admission of the married and of women to the priesthood” ...

All so much foolish talk endangering the salvation of souls.

Our Lord said:I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me.(Jn. 6:38)

Time on Earth is running out.Eternity approaches.Soon death will come,judgment will followand thenHeaven or Hell for ever.

Alexander the coppersmith hath done me much evil: the Lord will reward him according to his works:(2 Timothy 4:14)

Monday, July 25, 2011

Snow down to sea level in Christchurch.Br. Paul Mary, F.SS.R. and Br. Xavier Maria, F.SS.R.were to have left Christchurch todayto return to Papa Stronsay for two months.With flights cancelledthey will now come home a day or so later!

When they arrive back they may not be missing too much.

The great advantage of our Orkney climateis that we can often have winter conditions even in the summer!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Yesterday the Pontifical Council Cor Unum warned thathundreds of thousands of people in the Horn of Africaare at risk of dying due to a lack of basic necessitiescaused by drought and violence.

This council, which oversees the Church's charity work,noted Benedict XVI's appeal on Sunday.

"Around 10 million people are suffering, and hundreds of thousands of refugees risk dying because of a lack of basic necessities. Somalia and northern Kenya are the worst struck areas."

The drought is the worst the area has seen for 60 years.The last official famine was in 1984-85,when about 1 million people in Ethiopia and Sudan died.

South Somalia is controlled by Islamic fundamentalistswho until last week had banned aid agencies from the area.

The Pope appealing for the Horn of Africa last Sunday.

The Holy Father already sent a €50,000 ($70,000) donationthrough Cor Unum to the apostolic administrator of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.The Apostolic Administrator Bishop Giorgio Bertinis directly involved in bringing assistance to the people affected.

The Holy Father speaks.

We invite you to send donations to the Holy Father's Charity -The Pontifical Council Cor Unum:How to do it:The bank details below are from the Cor Unum website:

who was laid to rest with his wifein the tomb of the Emperors in Vienna on Saturday, 16 July.

His heart will be buried at thePannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary on Sunday, 17 July.

After the Imperial Family's exile to Madeira in 1921 and the death of Blessed Charles, Archduke Otto was brought up by his mother the Empress Zita, herself a most extraordinary woman.

In this short clip (unfortunately only in French)

Archdukes Rudolph and Ottospeak of the influence of their wonderful mother.

The Archduke's wedding in Nancy, France.

Archduke Otto died peacefully in his sleep on4 July, 2011, in Bavaria.His remains were first transferred to Munichfor the first Requiem,followed by a journey to the pilgrimage shrine of Mariazellwhere he was laid in statebesides the remains of his wife Reginawho died in 2010.After being translated to Vienna and the Requiemthe funeral procession conducted theArchduke to his final resting place.

Finally the Archduke is laid to rest in theCrypt of the Emperors in the Vienna's Capuchin Church.

The ancient ceremony of admittance is followed as thehearse arrives at the doors of the church (as shown below).The deceased Imperial personage is twice announced for admittanceusing all his titles of nobilityto which the Capuchin within replies - "We do not know him".Only on the third request when the deceased is announced as:"Otto, a mortal, sinful human being!"are the doors be open and the hearse admitted.

He was King Henry IX of England, France and Ireland;andKing Henry I of Scotland.He is buried in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.

I think that the life of this exiledKing of England, Scotland, France and Ireland,the last of the Royal House of Stuart, is most fitting.

The long procession of the Royal Stuarts concludes,not in a hellish death struggle against the usurper,but rather with the holy life long sacrificeof the youngest member of the dynasty,offered to God.Henry Stuartas Prince, heir to the thronesand legitimate king,lays down his life in the service of the King of kingsas the Priest-King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland,Defender of the Faith.

The King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland,and the Defender of the Faith,as priest and victimdaily offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Massfor nearly 59 full years.He was Prince of the Holy Roman Church for 60 years.

"...our every sacrifice was made for God,for the Faith,and for that unshaken loyalty we have ever displayedtowards the Primacy of Peter and the Holy See."

(Henry Cardinal called Duke of York, 4 Nov. 1792.)

A brief sketch of his life:

The Duke of York.

He was born in Rome on 6 March 1725,the second son of exiledKing James III of England and VIII of Scotland.On the same day he was baptised by Pope Benedict XIII,shortly after, as the king's second son,he was created Duke of York.

In 1745 he went to France to help his brother,H.R.H. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales,(better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie),to prepare the Jacobite campaign in Scotland.

In June 1747 Pope Benedict XIV announced his intentionto enroll Prince Henry, Duke of York,in the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.

30 June 1747the Duke of York was tonsuredby Pope Benedict XIV.

In the consistory of 3 July 1747,the Duke of York was createdCardinal-Deacon.

1 September 1748, in his 24th year of age,he was ordained a Priestand thereafterdaily offered the Sacred Victimon the altar.

15 May - 6 July 1758,aged 33 years,he participated in the conclave to electPope Clement XIII.

30 January, 1788,the Cardinal-Prince, Duke of York,succeeded to all of his British rights asKing Henry IX of England, France and Ireland;King Henry I of Scotland;Defender of the Faith.

(He now used the title"Cardinal calledDuke of York"in order to indicate that this was no longer his real title.He changed his arms from those of a second son,with a crescent in the middle,to the undifferenced Royal Arms.)

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

In some periods of history, the hatred of one man for another because ofsome injury he had received has been pushed to extremes.

A village of vendetta towers built in Vathia Mani, Greece. Those with a price on their heads could take refuge in the higher part of the tower until the danger had passed.Charity had obviously grown cold in this village.

Today's saint is easy to pass by. He has a rather different sounding name to the English speaker and is not well known.Yet, he is one of the most touching examples of forgiveness to be found in the lives of the saints.

Born into the noble Visdomini family in 993,

John Gualbert had no more thought of following a life of austerity and humility than did his noble Florentine friends and companions.

Raised to be a soldier, he spent his time in worldly amusements.Indeed, so far from intending to follow the precepts of Our Lord,his one over-riding ambition was to avenge the murder of his elder brother, Hugh.

To him this was a matter of justice and,more importantly, a matter of honour.Vendetta.

It happened that one Good Friday as he was riding through a narrow pass on his way to Florence, John came face to facewith the man he had been seeking.

The man was alone and there was no means of escape.John drew his sword and moved forward, but at his approach the corneredmurdererfell to his knees and then prostrated himself on the ground in the form of a cross and implored him, for the sake of Our Lord's Holy Passion, to spare his life.

St John said to his enemy, "I cannot refuse what you ask in Christ's name.I grant you your life, and I give you my friendship.Pray that God may forgive me my sin."

Grace had triumphed.

A humble and changed man,he entered the Church of St Miniato,which was near; and whilst he prayed,the figure of Our Crucified Lord,before which he was kneeling,bowed its head toward him to ratify the pardon.

St John went to the monastery of San Miniato del Monte in Florence where he asked the abbot for permission to be admitted.But the abbot delayed, fearing the anger and resentment ofthe noble convert's parents. To demonstrate the seriousness of his call,St John shaved his head himselfand put on a habit that he had borrowed.

He would become the founder of the Vallombrosian branch of the Benedictines.

One grace offered to us by God,can be the first linkof a long chain of gracesthat will lead us to Heaven.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

This morning we enjoyed the pleasure of the company of two groups of friends who braved the waters (and a little boat) to pay us a visit on Papa Stronsay.The members of the Sanday Afternoon Clubwere on their second excursion to our Monastery Island and were delighted to see the progress made in the monastery and Our Lady's Gardens (where they are pictured above),since their last visit.They were also able to enjoy its fruits in the form of rasberries, strawberries and loganberries.

The island of Sanday (in the distance) over the water as seen from Papa Stronsay.Haste ye back!